World

Sixty-two members of Lebanon's parliament convened last week in Saudi Arabia, meeting outside the country to avoid being intimidated by Syrian troops, who have occupied Beirut for the past three years. The session's goal: to enact political reforms called for in an Arab League peace plan that produced a cease-fire two weeks ago in the six-month-old civil war pitting Lebanon's Christians against the Syrians and their Muslim allies. The meeting will continue, said one member, "however long that takes."

Despite occasional gunfire, the truce held last week, allowing a semblance of normality to return to Beirut. Its residents have watched cease-fires come and go, but one promising tip-off suggests this one will last for a while. The price of plate glass for replacing the thousands of windowpanes shattered by gunfire and artillery barrages quadrupled within hours.